Terms Of Reference (Tors) For Consultancy Service for Beekeeping/Honey Value Chain Analysis in the Congo Nile Divide Region tender at Cordaid

About Cordaid

Cordaid is an internationally operating value-based emergency relief and development organization, working in and on fragility. We stand with those who are hardest hit by poverty and conflict. We support them in their struggle to move beyond survival and to fully participate in equitable and resilient societies.

In Rwanda, Cordaid focuses on enhancing food security, promoting climate resilience, and fostering financial inclusion by collaborating with local communities, government institutions, and private sector partners. Cordaid’s interventions include supporting smallholder farmers by facilitating access to finance, market system development, promoting sustainable agricultural practices, and integrating climate change adaptation strategies to build resilient communities. 

Cordaid’s vision is a world where people can live with dignity and peace, enjoying equal access to resources and opportunities that promote sustainable development.

Background and context

In partnership with Rwanda Forestry Authority (RFA) and other consortium organizations, Cordaid Rwanda is implementing the project “Building Resilience of Vulnerable Communities to Climate Variability in Rwanda’s Congo Nile Divide Through Forest and Landscape Restoration”. The project, co-financed by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Government of Rwanda, represented by the Ministry of Environment (MoE), aims to enhance the resilience of vulnerable communities in Rwanda’s Congo Nile Divide region by mitigating the adverse effects of climate variability through sustainable forest and landscape restoration (FLR) practices. The main activities focus on restoring the degraded landscape, conserving biodiversity, and strengthening local livelihoods to create a sustainable and climate-resilient ecosystem.

The Congo Nile Divide region, spanning parts of North-West and Southern parts of Rwanda, is home to vulnerable groups, including women, youth, persons with disabilities (PWDs), and landless households. These groups often face barriers to accessing productive resources, financial services, and income-generating opportunities. The region is also characterized by its rich biodiversity and large agricultural potential. Among the key underutilized value chains in the area is beekeeping, which offers opportunities for sustainable livelihoods, biodiversity conservation, and economic development. Beekeeping has been identified as a potentially viable income-generating activity in the region. Most importantly, beekeeping is a valuable livelihood diversification strategy with high potential to contribute to the socio-economic development of the communities, but it remains largely informal and constrained by traditional practices, lack of modern techniques, poor post-harvest handling, and weak market linkages. These challenges result in low honey yields and poor quality, limiting access to profitable regional and international markets. Given that the project aims to link beekeepers to these markets, it should be noted that honey destined for export must comply with stringent international quality standards and certifications. These certifications are essential to penetrate the markets, but they are often out of reach for smallholder beekeepers due to capacity gaps, insufficient infrastructure, and a lack of market information.

In this regard, Cordaid Rwanda seeks to hire a competent firm to conduct a thorough analysis of the beekeeping and honey value chain in the CND region, identifying existing gaps, opportunities, and to provide actionable recommendations to improve the value chain and to ensure that that women, youth, and other marginalized groups benefit equally from improved rural livelihoods and financial services through active participation in the beekeeping/honey value chain.

Objective of the assignment

The primary objective of this consultancy is to conduct an in-depth analysis of the beekeeping and honey value chain in the districts covering the CND region, namely Nyabihu, Rutsiro, Karongi, Ngororero, Rusizi, Nyamasheke, Nyaruguru and Nyamagabe Districts to inform targeted interventions that will enhance productivity, improve quality standards, and strengthen market linkages, contributing to sustainable livelihoods of people in the region.

Scope of work and key responsibilities

The consultant shall undertake the following tasks, ensuring that women, youth, and other marginalized groups are integrated in honey value chain interventions:

• Conduct a comprehensive desk review of relevant national policies, strategies, reports, regulations, and existing literature on beekeeping/honey value chains relevant to the CND Region.
• Map the existing beekeeping and honey production stakeholders in the CND region and conduct a comprehensive needs assessment of beekeepers/cooperatives, input suppliers, and processors, including capacity building needs, equipment, infrastructure, and institutional support requirements necessary to enable market access.
• Analyze the honey value chain structure, value addition opportunities, and profit margins at each stage of the chain and in each CND district.
• Identify specific equipment and infrastructure (honey collection centers and/or processing facilities) needed to improve beekeeping productivity, honey quality, and compliance with export standards.
• Evaluate and provide actionable recommendations to strengthen the beekeeping and honey value chain, improve quality control, facilitate access to export-related certifications, and enhance market access.
• Develop a comprehensive final report with detailed analysis, recommendations, an implementation roadmap, and a prioritized list of capacity development, equipment, and infrastructure needs.

Expected deliverables

Through an in-depth understanding of the project background, its rationale, and the purpose of this assignment, the consultant is expected to deliver the following:

Inception report specific to the CND context

• Detailed methodology, stakeholder engagement plan, and work schedule, contextualized to the geographical, environmental, and socio-economic realities of the CND Region.
• Situational analysis of relevant national policies, strategies, reports, regulations, and existing literature on beekeeping and honey value chains relevant to the CND Region
• Clear strategy for engaging and integrating vulnerable, remote, and marginalized communities in the honey value chain.

Comprehensive value chain assessment report for the CND region

• Mapping of the honey and beekeeping value chain specific to the CND Region, identifying the actors, market linkages, and current value chain structure.
• Identification of district-specific challenges and opportunities in the value chain across the whole CND Region related to capacity building needs, equipment, infrastructure, and institutional support requirements necessary to enable market access.
• Develop the CND Region-specific strategy/approach to address the identified specific challenges and opportunities in the value chain related to:

1. the technical skills, production practices, and organizational capacities of beekeepers, cooperatives, processors, and traders in the CND Region.
2. appropriate equipment to improve productivity and quality, such as
   • Modern, improved beehives adapted to the CND’s ecology
   • Honey harvesting and handling equipment
   • Georeferenced existing community-based honey collection centers

• A honey processing and packaging facility that meets quality standards
• Assessment of available local and regional suppliers regarding the recommended equipment and infrastructure.
• Identify at least 3–5 potential domestic and international buyers interested in sourcing honey from the CND region.
• Assess market demand trends, price benchmarks, and preferred quality/packaging specifications.

Capacity building

• Design and deliver a CND-tailored training module for beekeepers to address the skills gaps identified.
• Conduct training of trainers (ToT) session to promote sustainable knowledge transfer for testing and validation to selected individuals.

Guidance on certification and market standards for CND honey

• Clear steps for CND beekeepers to meet national and international honey quality standards.
• Practical recommendations on pathways to achieve certifications such as organic, fair trade, HACCP, traceability, or other potential export-related certifications to increase competitiveness.

Final report with actionable recommendations

• Consolidated detailed final report integrating all findings, participants' data, equipment and infrastructure recommendations, value chain improvement strategies, and feedback from the validation workshop.

Stakeholder validation workshop

The consultant shall attend a workshop with project stakeholders to present the findings, recommendations on equipment and infrastructure, and the proposed value chain development plan and will incorporate the feedback from beekeepers' representatives, private sector actors, government stakeholders, and the CND project team.

Duration and timeline

The consultancy is expected to take a total of sixty (60) working days, starting from September 2025 to March 2026.

Reporting lines

The consultant will report directly to the CND Project Coordinator and Cc to the Climate Resilience Program Manager at Cordaid Rwanda. The consultant will work closely with the project officers, local government authorities, beekeeping cooperatives, and relevant stakeholders in the region.

Required qualifications and experience

The firm shall demonstrate the following experts as a minimum:

Selection Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Submission Guidelines

Interested consultants or firms are invited to submit the following documents:

-Administrative Documents: Firm registration certificate to operate in Rwanda, VAT Certificate and Valid tax clearance certificate

-Technical proposal: The proposed structure of the technical proposal, along with a clear table of contents, is as follows:

• Profile of the firm: Provide an overview that highlights your expertise and experience relevant to the task.
• Background of the assignment: demonstrate the understanding of the assignment, the context, background, and relevance of the assignment.
• Objectives and scope: Clear statement of the assignment-specific objectives, scope of work, and deliverables.
• Methodology/Approach: A detailed explanation of the methods, techniques, and processes to be used in carrying out this assignment to achieve the key expected results and deliverables.
• Work Plan/Timeline: Outline of key activities and deliverables, along with a timeline showing the estimated completion time.
• Team Composition: A description of the team members, their roles, qualifications, CVs, copies of degrees and certificates proving their work experience for key experts.

Submission Details:
All applications must be sent by email to apollinaire.nshimiyimana@cordaid.org not later than 15th September 2025.
Subject line: Beekeeping and Honey Value Chain Analysis - CND Project

Note: Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for further steps.

Ethical Considerations

The consultant firm must comply with CND Project safeguards as detailed in the project ESMF and Cordaid’s safeguarding, code of conduct, integrity, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, child protection, environmental responsibility, and data protection policies throughout the assignment.

Confidentiality and Proprietary Rights

All deliverables, including the solutions developed, will become the property of Cordaid and its partners. The service provider must maintain strict confidentiality regarding any proprietary or sensitive information obtained during the assignment.

Right to Cease Advertisement

Cordaid reserves the right to withdraw or cease the advertisement for this consultancy at any time prior to the signing of a contract. This decision may be made at Cordaid's discretion and without obligation to provide reasons for such withdrawal. All interested parties will be promptly notified if the advertisement is ceased.

Additional information

For further information or queries regarding the terms of reference, please contact Apollinaire Nshimiyimana at apollinaire.nshimiyimana@cordaid.org.

Done in Kigali, on 18/08/2025

Approved by:

Patrick BIRASA

Country Manager